Leontodon
by One Fine Wire
Summary: "This is the happily ever after she's been waiting for." Companion story to 'Orphanos' and 'Oikia'.


**Leontodon**

**I) The Beginning of a Love Story**

Gertie sits at the kitchen table and eats buttered bread, watching with amusement as her best friend, Mitzi, raids the kitchen pantry searching for the giant, glass container of Tootsie rolls her father keeps at the very top of the shelf. She laughs when she sees Mitzi run clumsily back to the kitchen table, grab a chair, and drag it back to the pantry so she can reach the jar herself.

While she does so, Gertie smiles widely as her thoughts turn toward Phil Shortman. She loves teasing him and seeing him react the way that he does to her jokes and endless pranks, but at she same time, she can't help but find him adorable with that chin she loves to tease him about. Gertie finds him likeable, with how he's a true friend to all. She feels herself blushing when she finds him _kissable._

Gertie didn't think of him that way until he gave her his lunch because she forgot hers. Her smile grows wider as she continues reminiscing about the moment, dreaming about the two of them dancing in a field of dandelions, watching as Phil picks one for her and smiles. She envisions them coming closer together, staring at each other in the eye, knowing each other's secrets, knowing the other person perfectly.

"What you smiling about?" Mitzi asks suspiciously, holding the jar of Tootsie rolls in the crook of her left arm while dragging the chair back to the kitchen table with her right hand. Sitting back down at the kitchen table, she opens the jar of candies and pops two into her mouth before turning to stare at her friend again.

"Nothing," Gertie answers, shaking her head, which enables herself to come back to reality. "I wasn't thinking of anything."

Doubtful, Mitzi asks, "You weren't thinking about _my brother, _were you?"

"Why would I think about _him?"_Gertie says nonchalantly, taking a handful of Tootsie rolls for herself. "He has a big chin and never knows what the answers are in class."

Mitzi giggles loudly at her friend's proclamation and says, "Let's not forget that he killed our pet dog, too."

"That was an accident," Gertie retorts coolly. "Phil may be a lot of things, but he's not a vicious animal killer."

Gertie watches as her friend rolls her eyes and says, "Don't defend him, Gertie. Just don't." Mitzi peers at Gertie, a look of suspicion upon her face and says, "Why so quick to come to his rescue, anyway?"

Gertie defends herself by taking yet another handful of Tootsie rolls and putting them into her mouth. "Just a slip of the tongue," she answers through a mouthful of the chocolaty, sticky, candy. "Phil _was _supposed to fix that gap in the fence."

Mitzi nods, satisfied, and the two friends continue to exchange gossip, jokes, and long talks about the boys in their class. While Mitzi novelizes how charming she finds Miles Taylor, Gertie stares at the dandelions she picked earlier in the center of the kitchen table. She smiles when she sees Phil in front of her, standing on a wooden bridge overlooking her favorite meadow, handing her a single dandelion, brushing his lips against her own, hoping that he'll return that love….

…hoping that he'll want to play the romantic interest in the love story of her life.

**II) The Conflict**

She throws the door open mightily and slams it shut, sinking to the floor, still picking the dandelions she picked for him. When she looks up, she sees the clock and rushes to her room, where she throws the dandelions, picked with care and tied with a brightly colored yellow ribbon, into the heart shaped box where she keeps her prized possessions, which mostly consist of pictures of Phil set against colored paper. She digs into the pocket of her dress and lets the pieces of Phil's broken baseball bat drop on top of the dandelions.

Hiding the box underneath her bed, Gertie, still flustered and her cheeks tear stained from her encounter with Phil, runs to the bathroom sink and splashes her face with cool water. Breathing deeply, she douses her face a second time before drying it and pulling a comb through her hair.

When the door knocks, Gertie knows it is Mitzi, here for their weekly sleepover. The original plan was to have Gertie spend the night over at Mitzi's place, but her friend insisted on staying over at Gertie's house instead.

Gertie smiles, grateful for the last minute change in plans. Though she loved staying over at the Shortman family's boarding house, where she could sneak in secret glances at Phil, she knows she could never face him tonight. After exhaling, Gertie answers the door and lets Mitzi inside.

"Miles and his strange friend, the one who's always eating – "

"Joseph Stubbs?"

"Yes, that's him," Mitzi answers, "Just told me you broke Phil's baseball bat into pieces after his team beat you," she announces as she waltzes into Gertie's house. "I wish I could've witnessed that!" While walking to sit on the couch, Mitzi laughs and says, "I _would've loved _to have seen the expression on Phil's face!"

Gertie puts on a fake smile for her friend and sits on the couch next to her. "I can't believe his team actually won," she says, adding a false laugh to her smile. _"His batting stance is ridiculous!"_

"_He can't play ball to save his life!" _Mitzi laughs, her voice filled with a malicious mirth.

Gertie continues to smile and laugh with her friend, but inside her heart hurts as she ridicules the one she loves, all for the sake of maintaining appearances and control. She sees her friend in front of her, laughing at her brother's follies, but in her mind's eye, all she sees is Phil giving her a mournful look before turning her back on her. That same, sad expression haunts her dreams, and young Gertie resigns herself to a sleepless night, listening to Mitzi's snores.

Looking up at the ceiling, she comprehends the conflict she has brought upon herself in this love story.

It's her heart.

Her heart knows what's right for her, but Gertie refuses to listen to it, instead turning to the logic of her mind.

She loves Phil, but also wants to remain in control.

The conflict has given her two choices.

_Maintain control, and lose the love of your life._

_Or…_

_Follow your heart, but lose control, and risk having Phil reject you._

Gertie puts her pillow over her head and shuts her eyes defiantly. She can't take this dilemma right now, but fears that it will continue to haunt both her _and_ her dreams.

**III) An Admittance**

Standing on the roof of the Shortman's boardinghouse, where Gertie and Mitzi will spend the night underneath the stars, Gertie finally feels free.

It took years, and an ultimate showdown at last night's dance, but she finally embraces life for what it is. She accepts the fact that only the most miserable people try to retain control of their lives, while the happiest people live and let live, enjoy the journey while facing head-one whatever life throws at them, and realize that control is not always something they can have within reach.

This led her to Phil. It led her to confess her love for him and to him returning her feelings with a kiss and a promise to make it out of the war he'd just left for alive.

Gertie frowns slightly and is overcome with sadness while fearing for Phil and his imminent ventures against Adolf Hitler's regime. She fears for his safety during the battles and bloodshed he will inevitably face, but she knows he will keep his promise. She knows he will come home.

The young woman sighs and turns around, her long, blonde hair swishing as she does so. She approaches Mitzi, sitting on her camp bed picking at a dandelion, looking forlorn. Mitzi exhales and lets the crushed dandelion fall to the ground before putting her hands to her head.

"Mitzi?" Gertie asks gently, "Are you all right?"

She's never seen Mitzi look so miserable before in her life.

"_No," _Mitzi snaps, _"I can't believe it. I can't believe you've been in love with my brother all these years, I can't believe the man I love has rejected me, I can't believe that most of the young men we've grown up with will never come back to this city alive, I can't believe everything's had to be put on hold for a war we didn't start… I just can't believe it!" _

Her screams echo loudly one after the other as Gertie puts her arm around her friend's shoulders to comfort her.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out between you and Miles, Mitzi," Gertie consoles her friend, "Maybe the two of you can write each other now and see where you both stand when he comes home."

"That's the thing!" Mitzi snarls, pulling away from Gertie, "Miles said _maybe. _That _maybe _he'd write to me. He didn't promise anything outright!"

"Well, _his family is_ his first priority."

Mitzi rolls her eyes and says coldly, "Tell that to Phil! That is, if you're not too busy sending him love notes! You could've easily told him at the dance last night instead of puckering up with him!"

"_Mitzi – "_

"I just can't believe this," her friend laments. "Tell me, Gertie – you say that you've loved Phil since you were a child… but did you love him when you broke his baseball bat?"

"Before that," Gertie answers, "_Long_ before that."

When Mitzi throws her hands into the air and screams again, Gertie can't help but laugh.

**IV) A Reconciliation**

"We can have a sleepover, just like we did when we were girls!" Gertie exclaims, laughing with Mitzi as she serves dinner to her, Arnold, and Phil.

The laughter, the jokes, and offering Mitzi a place to stay in the boardinghouse, is merely a façade. Gertie can't believe Mitzi's shown up unexpectedly, without _any _notice, with the mentality that everything's fine when she hasn't spoken to her brother in seven decades, severed all ties with her over the name of her son, and thinks she can interrupt their lives under the pretense of getting to know _her _flesh and blood, _her _grandson, and the _very extension _of _her _child, Arnold. Gertie hates that Mitzi uses every possible opportunity to find fault with Phil and cause contention. As she finishes serving the other boarders, she looks at Arnold, and notices that he doesn't like it, either.

As she finishes serving the other boarders, Gertie looks at her grandson again. Arnold sits at the dinner table in between Mitzi and Phil, his arms folded, those half-lidded green eyes of his bearing a cold glare. She smiles slightly to herself, finding that she and Arnold are kindred spirits. Neither of them look forward to what lies ahead and the constant bickering that's bound to happen between the two estranged siblings. When her grandson's gaze meets her own, he returns her smile and nods.

Arnold is his father's son after all, and Gertie knows that he'll figure out a way for the two of them to come together.

It is up to her to set it in motion.

…

The first new nights of Mitzi's stay slowly, but surely, pick away at Gertie's sanity. Granted, she hasn't had a _true _girl's night in years, and in some ways, it's a nice change, staying up all night chatting with Mitzi about various subject matters, pulling all-nighters making cookies, eating junk food, and watching old movies. At the same time, however, Gertie hates that during the day, she picks on Phil and really doesn't take the time to get to know Arnold. It's as though she's a completely different person during the evenings than she is during the day. It frustrates her, and while the girl's nights have been fun, Gertie knows that it's high time Mitzi put her petty resentments behind her and that she needs to stop putting on a show that everything's okay when it isn't.

After five nights of this, Gertie waits in her and Phil's bedroom for her sister-in-law to finish getting ready for bed. It's clear to Gertie that Mitzi hasn't changed at all from their childhood and teenage years – she still takes forever to primp, even when she's going to bed. When she finally exits the bathroom in her signature, flashy, leopard print nightgown with pale pink, faux fur trimming wearing an avocado face mask, Gertie loses it and falls into a fit of childish giggles.

"Real funny, Gertie, isn't it?" Mitzi says, chuckling, "Some things never change, do they? Like you collecting dandelions."

"No," Gertie answers, sitting cross-legged on her bed, blowing away at the fistful of parachute balls clutched in her left hand, "But some things ought to."

"Like what?" Mitzi inquires as she sits across the bed from Gertie.

_"You know exactly what I'm talking about,"_Gertie replies, discarding the dandelion stems into the wastebasket at the side of her bed.

"_NO!" _Mitzi snaps. "Don't do this, Gertie. _Just don't._"

"Why not?" Gertie demands, "You came here under the pretense of getting to know Arnold, but you've made _no effort _whatsoever to even talk to him since the night you got here, and that first night was the first time you ever met him. Funny, because when he was first born, I sent you a letter informing him of it. Then again, I had to look through _seven _different editions of the yellow pages just to get your address, and you _never _wrote me back! I didn't even _know _you were back in town until just a few nights ago."

Mitzi sends her sister-in-law a glare, muttering, "You think my life is just so perfect, don't you?"

"I _don't, _actually," Gertie answered. "I _know _your life is _far _from the perfection you project it as."

The woman across from Gertie laughs without mercy and growls, "Unrequited love, the _only _man I could picture spending my life with killed because of some blasted war, a movie career that didn't even take off, barely getting by in the fashion world, moving from apartment to apartment, never finding the right person to spend my life and grow old with, is all that's consumed my life." She takes a small bottle of chardonnay out of the pocket of her gown. Ripping the corkscrew bottle off with her teeth, and spitting it out before taking a gulp, Mitzi finishes off the bottle and throws it against the wall, much to her sister-in-law's surprise. _"Life has __**not **__been kind to me. I've __**never **__gotten a break. __**You, **__on the other hand…"_

"_Me!"_Gertie inquires, shocked. "My life has been filled with heartbreak and tragedy too, Mitzi. Each day, Phil and I experience an agony that we hope _no _parent _ever _has to face!"

Ignoring the profound proclamation given her, Mitzi looks at her with heartbreak and sorrow etched into her eyes and says, "For years my life has been consumed with the bitter jealousies I've had of you and Phil. When I saw the two of you dancing at the Circle Theatre the night before my brother and Miles Taylor went off to war, I wanted that. When I saw the two of you the next day being intimate with each other, you promising to write him, and him, giving you the promise that he'd return home… then, all the letters the two of you wrote…

"I was trying to be _you, _Gertie! Kissing Miles, getting intimate with him, writing him feverishly several times a day… I wanted Miles to be the romantic lead along with me. I wanted Miles and I to be like you and Phil," she chokes out bitterly, hot tears welling up in her eyes. "I wanted what you and my brother had, and still have today. I _still _want that. Your lives are so _perfect! _The love between the two of you is still strong, you have a beautiful family…_it's just not fair!_" she cries, letting her sobs overtake her.

Gertie touches Mitzi's shoulder gently and gets up from her place on the bed. She retrieves the picture frame on the dresser before returning to her position on the bed.

"Mitzi," Gertie reassures her sister-in-law soothingly, "My life isn't the most ideal one. All those years I kept my love for Phil a secret. I did so because I feared his rejection. I was mean to him all because of some irrational fear of losing control. I only became happy by realizing that I can't be in control of every single detail of my life." Handing the picture to Mitzi, she says, "Look at this."

The picture is of her son, Miles and his wife, Stella, holding an infant Arnold.

"Is this – " Mitzi places a trembling finger onto the blonde, handsomely rugged man in the picture, identifying him, "Your son?"

Gertie nods, "Miles. You know who Phil and I named him after."

Mitzi nods. "Your son's very good looking," she says quivering. "He has Phil's chin and blonde hair, just like you." She holds the picture close to her face and squints at it, "He even looks like…"

"He and Stella have been missing since Arnold was a year old," Gertie tells her. "It's an empty space in our lives that won't _ever _be filled unless they come back."

"I remember seeing the news reports about their disappearance," Mitzi replies, wiping the tears from her eyes, smearing her avocado face mask slightly. "I… I should've called you and Phil… I should've met your son when I had the chance instead of building a rift between us."

"You know you should reconcile with Phil," Gertie tells Mitzi, hugging her. "And I've told him numerous times that he needs to patch things up with you."

The woman looks up at Gertie and shakes her head. Her avocado face mask is runny in some places from the tears and her eyes are red and watery. "I… I can't."

"Has holding this grudge really made your life better, or worse, Mitzi?"

"What about Phil? He's held a grudge with me, and he still leads a happy life! He's married to you, the love of his life, he has a bright, handsome son and lovely daughter-in-law –"

"Who are out missing in the jungles of San Lorenzo," Gertie interrupts coldly.

Mitzi holds up her hand. "And he has a smart grandson. Arnold," she replies, smiling to herself.

"Good night, Mitzi," Gertie says, rolling her eyes before lying down in the bed and turning off the light. _"She and Phil are __**way **__too stubborn for their own good," _she thinks to herself.

…

The next evening, Gertie finds herself atop the kitchen table, attempting to swat the obnoxious fly that's been bothering everyone throughout the day when Arnold, her grandson, her stability, the one person who keeps her sane, walks in, sitting down at the kitchen table.

"Grandma," Arnold says, "I'm worried about Grandpa and Mitzi. I really like her, and I know you do too."

Gertie gets off the kitchen table and stands, eager to hear her grandson's opinion about the two headstrong siblings and the ridiculous grudge they've been holding all these years. "But Grandpa just can't stand her. He hates her so much, I'm afraid he's about to do something drastic. I just don't get why."

"Arnold, in times like these," she says, "The thing to remember is to keep your nerve." She notices the fly on the kitchen table, eying it. "Coolly approach your prey, and then, STRIKE!" she exclaims, throwing the fly swatter down, failing to squish it.

Turning to the sound of the fly buzzing in the hallway, she turns to her grandson and says, "And try looking on the top shelf in the parlor next to the cactus."

Like father, like son, like namesake, he does exactly that.

**V) The Happily Ever After**

"And that's how I got Phil in trouble with our fourth grade teacher!"

The three women laugh together in the family room, all sprawled out on the ground, with various blankets covering them, the couch cushions acting as their mattresses. Various homemade desserts, such as peanut butter cookies, chocolate covered pretzels, strawberry pie, raspberry cobbler, and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, along with glasses of champagne and those pastel after dinner mints, lie before them all on large, silver trays. MJAZZ plays softly in the background, as the three women relax and take in the music of Duke Ellington.

The several bouquets of dandelions the women picked during their afternoon sojourn in Gertie's favorite meadow, which are now in intricate, glass vases, cover nearly every inch of the coffee table the three of them moved to make room on the floor.

"I haven't been to a sleepover in years!" a young, beautiful brunette sitting before Gertie and Mitzi tells them, grinning. "The last time I was at a sleepover, it was an impromptu one that took place during my medical school days." She closes her eyes and smiles while thinking of the memory.

"What happened?" Gertie asks her daughter-in-law eagerly, offering her a slice of strawberry pie. "Do tell!"

Stella smiles coyly and says, "My roommate and I were hosting a study party at our apartment the weekend before finals. We'd been studying since five or so in the evening and hadn't thought to eat anything, since we were all swamped with so much studying and other work to do." She takes a bite of pie before continuing. "At around midnight, my roommate began invading our kitchen cupboards, the refrigerator, and freezer, taking out all the food. The next thing I knew, I abandoned my studying along with my classmates and we began cooking, using all the food my roommate pulled out. We made spaghetti, a broccoli and cheese casserole, an assortment of salads, a three-layer cake, and even homemade ice cream! We kept studying well into the hours of the morning and the next day all while eating the food we prepared… complete to the easy listening of John Coltrane and Ella Fitzgerald."

"Ah, youth," Gertie smiles, as she embraces Stella and holds her daughter-in-law close to her. "That sounds like a study party I'd go to."

"How did you do on your finals?" Mitzi inquires, holding her stomach, in pain, but still smiling nonetheless. Gertie chuckles at this sight; it's clear that raspberries have the same effect on Mitzi's stomach that they do her husband's. Her sister-in-law has softened over time. Like Gertie, she, too has learned that she cannot always be in control. She's gentler, kinder now, and has a better relationship with Phil then she has in years past. She's close to Arnold, with Stella, and with her nephew. Mitzi's making strides in the fashion world again, and has even made appearances on the dating scene. Currently, she's in a relationship with an elderly music mogul, but she still makes time for family, as evidenced by this sleepover.

"I did fine," Stella yawns, letting her head rest on Gertie's shoulder, who smiles when witnessing this particular action. She loves that Stella sees her like the mother she never had.

"I've seen your report cards," Gertie told her, "You got straight A's all throughout your school days."

Stella smiles and nods as she takes a peanut butter cookie, breaks it apart, and eats it. "How are the boys doing?"

"I'm sure their 'camping trip' is going great," Mitzi replies, laughing. "I'm sure they love the 'campsite' – a giant pool, Jacuzzi, fire pit, complete with a buffet and the songs of musical sensation Davy Jones!"

The three women fall into a fit of giggles before eating more of the desserts in front of them, drinking the bubbly champagne, heading into the kitchen to make a spontaneous, late night dinner of enchiladas with rice and beans, turning up the radio, watching old movies from Gertie and Mitzi's time, and falling asleep.

…

"Mom?"

Gertie's eyes open, and she finds herself staring her own, green orbs, the same eyes that belong to her son, Miles.

She sits up, and notices that Mitzi and Stella are still sleeping, that MJAZZ is still playing, though the volume's down considerably low, that there is food everywhere, and that her son, husband, and grandson are staring at the three of them bewilderingly.

Mitzi stirs in her sleep before waking up.

"Hi, Mom, Aunt Mitzi," Miles greets, laughing, "Wild party last night?"

"You have no idea, young man," Mitzi says with an edge to her voice. "How was 'camping?'"

Miles exhales deeply and says, smiling, "I think staying at a resort will be my kind of camping for now on." He stares lovingly at his wife, walks over to where she's sleeping, and picks her up. "I'll take her up to bed and then help you clean up," he tells them. He bends his head just slightly and kisses his wife on the forehead before leaving to take her up to one of the guest rooms to continue sleeping.

"Does that mean I can have the rest of the food?" Phil asks excitedly, as his dark brown eyes look over all assorted desserts still scattered around.

Arnold laughs and says, "You're still hungry after eating all that ice-cream cake from last night?"

"I'm _always _hungry, Shortman!" Phil answers, "Except for when I eat your grandmother's raspberry cobbler – then, I feel _sick._"

Gertie glares at her husband, hitting him playfully on the arm as Mitzi sniggers.

"We should get to work," Arnold says as he exits the family room and comes back with a trash bag with his father by his side.

Gertie smiles, turns to Mitzi, and the five of them begin cleaning up the living room, making sure that the vases of dandelions remain intact.

…

Later that afternoon, Gertie and her family find themselves back at her favorite meadow. A picnic lunch is packed and sits next to a blanket where the six of them plan to eat. In the meantime, Arnold tunes the portable radio they brought with them to MJAZZ. Once he finds the station and hears the smooth crooning of Louis Armstrong, he lays back amidst the dandelions and takes in the music.

Meanwhile, Miles and Stella dance, his arms cascade her waist as she falls into the hold he has on her. He dips her, and lifts her back up before they share a kiss.

Mitzi watches the two lovers with a smile on her face before going to join Arnold in listening to Armstrong's "A Kiss to Build a Dream On."

Then, Phil turns to her, offering his hand. She takes it, and the two dance before he kisses her madly and deeply. She returns it with a kiss of her own, and the two continue to dance, even during lunch, as the afternoon wanes on, as the sun falls and is replaced with the moon and a dark, nighttime sky with several stars illuminating it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices Arnold watching the two of them with a smile on his face. He turns to his parents, who are arm in arm, and he embraces them. They hold him and don't let go. Mitzi smiles at the two of them warmly and watches as Miles ruffles Arnold's hair. Phil returns Mitzi's smile with a toothy grin of his own, and then turns back to look at his wife.

This, Gertie realizes, is the happily ever after she's been waiting for.

* * *

**Author's Note: **For BunniGirl.

**Disclaimer: **Dialogue from the episode "Grandpa's Sister" written by Craig Bartlett was used in this story. I do not own the dialogue or the episode. No copyright infringement is intended or inferred.


End file.
